Playboy founder Hugh Hefner dead at age 91

The death was also announced by Playboy Enterprise in a communiqué Wednesday evening (local time). Hefner "died peacefully and under natural circumstances at his home The Playboy Mansion in the circle of loved ones," reads the message from the Playboys.

The pioneer of the mainstream erotic press also lived out sexual permissiveness himself. In his Playboy Mansion in Los Angeles, he celebrated debauched sex parties; he always appeared in the company of young women. Legendary is his red velvet bathrobe, in which he often posed for photos.

The Twitter message included a photo of Hefner and the phrase: "Life is too short to live someone else's dream." Hefner had more than 60 years ago created the Playboy was founded. The magazine, with offshoots in numerous countries, still relies on a mixture of erotic photos and reports on fashion, culture and politics. Time and again, prominent women pose nude for the Playboy photograph. (SDA)